Health care systems in developed countries must respond to diverse populations especially given increasing population movements. These groups make different claims upon the state and may have ...
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Health care systems in developed countries must respond to diverse populations especially given increasing population movements. These groups make different claims upon the state and may have different health care needs and expectations. But policy-makers and professionals often seem blind to this diversity. To ensure the wellbeing of its whole population, a state must respond to subgroups in terms of their health status and access to health services. The chapters in this book discuss countries and population groups that illustrate different responses to claimant groups and different ways of delivering health services. The chapters consider inherent population diversity (age, sex), citizenship issues (e.g. migrants, asylum seekers), and ethnic and indigenous groups (Roma in Europe, New Zealand Maori, Australian Aborigines). Are there barriers to people receiving equitable health care? Should mainstream health services be more responsive to the needs of different people, or should alternative health services be set up? The book provides a breadth of perspectives from which to draw conclusions on how to meet the needs of societies characterized by diversity.Less

Accessing Healthcare : Responding to diversity

Published in print: 2004-01-08

Health care systems in developed countries must respond to diverse populations especially given increasing population movements. These groups make different claims upon the state and may have different health care needs and expectations. But policy-makers and professionals often seem blind to this diversity. To ensure the wellbeing of its whole population, a state must respond to subgroups in terms of their health status and access to health services. The chapters in this book discuss countries and population groups that illustrate different responses to claimant groups and different ways of delivering health services. The chapters consider inherent population diversity (age, sex), citizenship issues (e.g. migrants, asylum seekers), and ethnic and indigenous groups (Roma in Europe, New Zealand Maori, Australian Aborigines). Are there barriers to people receiving equitable health care? Should mainstream health services be more responsive to the needs of different people, or should alternative health services be set up? The book provides a breadth of perspectives from which to draw conclusions on how to meet the needs of societies characterized by diversity.

This book offers a prospective on the global response to one of the greatest moral, legal, and public health challenges of the twenty-first century — achieving the human right to health as enshrined ...
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This book offers a prospective on the global response to one of the greatest moral, legal, and public health challenges of the twenty-first century — achieving the human right to health as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other legal instruments. The book aims to bring clarity to many of the complex clinical, ethical, economic, legal, and socio-cultural questions raised by injury and disease including the deeper determinants of health, such as poverty. Including an examination of the profound inequalities in health, which have resulted in millions of people condemned to unnecessary suffering and hastened deaths, this is much more than a primer on the right to health, it is a thoughtful account of its parameters together with strategies to achieve it, and discussion of why the right is so essential. Country-specific case studies provide context for analysing the right to health and assessing whether, and to what extent, this right has influenced critical decision-making that makes a difference in people’s lives. Thematic chapters also look at the specific challenges involved in translating the right to health into action. The book highlights the urgency to build upon the progress made in securing the right to health for all, offering a timely reminder that all stakeholders must redouble their efforts to advance the human right to health.Less

Advancing the Human Right to Health

Published in print: 2013-07-25

This book offers a prospective on the global response to one of the greatest moral, legal, and public health challenges of the twenty-first century — achieving the human right to health as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other legal instruments. The book aims to bring clarity to many of the complex clinical, ethical, economic, legal, and socio-cultural questions raised by injury and disease including the deeper determinants of health, such as poverty. Including an examination of the profound inequalities in health, which have resulted in millions of people condemned to unnecessary suffering and hastened deaths, this is much more than a primer on the right to health, it is a thoughtful account of its parameters together with strategies to achieve it, and discussion of why the right is so essential. Country-specific case studies provide context for analysing the right to health and assessing whether, and to what extent, this right has influenced critical decision-making that makes a difference in people’s lives. Thematic chapters also look at the specific challenges involved in translating the right to health into action. The book highlights the urgency to build upon the progress made in securing the right to health for all, offering a timely reminder that all stakeholders must redouble their efforts to advance the human right to health.

This book recounts the experiences of the founding executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as he fought the disease from its earliest manifestations to today. It ...
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This book recounts the experiences of the founding executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as he fought the disease from its earliest manifestations to today. It shows how the AIDS pandemic was not only catastrophic to the health of millions worldwide but that it also fractured international relations and public health policies in nations across the globe. It shows that, as the author struggled to get ahead of the disease, he found that science does little good when it operates independently of politics and economics. He also found that politics is worthless if it rejects scientific evidence and respect for human rights. The book describes how the HIV/AIDs epidemic altered global attitudes toward sexuality, changed the character of the doctor-patient relationship, altered the influence of civil society in international relations and broke traditional partisan divides. It illustrates how AIDS thrust health into national and international politics. It argues that the global reaction to AIDS over the past decade is the positive result of this development, and that this shows what can be achieved when science, politics, and policy converge on the ground. Because the achievements that have been made are fragile, the book warns against complacency and the consequences of reduced investments. It refuses to accept a world in which high levels of HIV infection are the norm. Instead, it explains how to continue to reduce the incidence of the disease through both prevention and treatment, until a vaccine is discovered.Less

AIDS Between Science and Politics

Peter Piot

Published in print: 2015-05-05

This book recounts the experiences of the founding executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) as he fought the disease from its earliest manifestations to today. It shows how the AIDS pandemic was not only catastrophic to the health of millions worldwide but that it also fractured international relations and public health policies in nations across the globe. It shows that, as the author struggled to get ahead of the disease, he found that science does little good when it operates independently of politics and economics. He also found that politics is worthless if it rejects scientific evidence and respect for human rights. The book describes how the HIV/AIDs epidemic altered global attitudes toward sexuality, changed the character of the doctor-patient relationship, altered the influence of civil society in international relations and broke traditional partisan divides. It illustrates how AIDS thrust health into national and international politics. It argues that the global reaction to AIDS over the past decade is the positive result of this development, and that this shows what can be achieved when science, politics, and policy converge on the ground. Because the achievements that have been made are fragile, the book warns against complacency and the consequences of reduced investments. It refuses to accept a world in which high levels of HIV infection are the norm. Instead, it explains how to continue to reduce the incidence of the disease through both prevention and treatment, until a vaccine is discovered.

Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, many bizarre and dangerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origins of the disease. This book explores the social and political factors ...
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Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, many bizarre and dangerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origins of the disease. This book explores the social and political factors prolonging the erroneous belief that the American government manufactured the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to be used as a biological weapon, as well as the myth's consequences for behavior, especially within African American and black South African communities. Contemporary AIDS denialism, the belief that HIV is harmless and that antiretroviral drugs are the true cause of AIDS, is a more insidious AIDS conspiracy theory. Advocates of this position make a “conspiratorial move” against HIV science by implying its methods cannot be trusted and that untested, alternative therapies are safer than antiretrovirals. These claims are genuinely life-threatening, as tragically demonstrated in South Africa when the delay of antiretroviral treatment resulted in nearly 333,000 AIDS deaths and 180,000 HIV infections—a tragedy of stunning proportions. The book identifies four symbolically powerful figures ensuring the lifespan of AIDS denialism: the hero scientist (dissident scientists who lend credibility to the movement); the cultropreneur (alternative therapists who exploit the conspiratorial move as a marketing mechanism); the living icon (individuals who claim to be living proof of AIDS denialism's legitimacy); and the praise-singer (journalists who broadcast movement messages to the public). It also describes how pro-science activists have fought back by deploying empirical evidence and political credibility to resist AIDS conspiracy theories, which is part of the crucial project to defend evidence-based medicine.Less

The AIDS Conspiracy : Science Fights Back

Nicoli Nattrass

Published in print: 2013-11-01

Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, many bizarre and dangerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origins of the disease. This book explores the social and political factors prolonging the erroneous belief that the American government manufactured the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to be used as a biological weapon, as well as the myth's consequences for behavior, especially within African American and black South African communities. Contemporary AIDS denialism, the belief that HIV is harmless and that antiretroviral drugs are the true cause of AIDS, is a more insidious AIDS conspiracy theory. Advocates of this position make a “conspiratorial move” against HIV science by implying its methods cannot be trusted and that untested, alternative therapies are safer than antiretrovirals. These claims are genuinely life-threatening, as tragically demonstrated in South Africa when the delay of antiretroviral treatment resulted in nearly 333,000 AIDS deaths and 180,000 HIV infections—a tragedy of stunning proportions. The book identifies four symbolically powerful figures ensuring the lifespan of AIDS denialism: the hero scientist (dissident scientists who lend credibility to the movement); the cultropreneur (alternative therapists who exploit the conspiratorial move as a marketing mechanism); the living icon (individuals who claim to be living proof of AIDS denialism's legitimacy); and the praise-singer (journalists who broadcast movement messages to the public). It also describes how pro-science activists have fought back by deploying empirical evidence and political credibility to resist AIDS conspiracy theories, which is part of the crucial project to defend evidence-based medicine.

This book documents the lived experiences of HIV-positive gay men who are presently middle aged, long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS. Through the use of ethnography and life history interviews, the book ...
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This book documents the lived experiences of HIV-positive gay men who are presently middle aged, long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS. Through the use of ethnography and life history interviews, the book delineates the resiliencies that these fifteen long-term survivors have demonstrated in coping with a life-threatening disease throughout the course of their adult lives. Interwoven with the academic literature, historical events, and artistic expressions from the popular media, the book narrates the life stories of these gay men who are members of the “AIDS Generation”. Their stories span the period from the early days of the epidemic to the present, including their lives as boys and young men negotiating their sexuality, first learning their serostatus, and their life experiences during this time. Next, this book describes the medical, psychological, social strategies and behaviors the men of this generation engaged in to survive the AIDS epidemic, and how these men of the AIDS Generation are confronting and navigating through this period of middle aged adulthood and into older adulthood with new physical, emotional, and social struggles. The book examines how approaches to survival inform and are informed by the broad body of literature on resilience and health, which may be applicable to the lives of those newly infected with HIV and others who are living with chronic health conditions, as well as providing insight to their caregivers and policy makers.Less

The AIDS Generation : Stories of Survival and Resilience

Perry N. Halkitis

Published in print: 2013-11-12

This book documents the lived experiences of HIV-positive gay men who are presently middle aged, long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS. Through the use of ethnography and life history interviews, the book delineates the resiliencies that these fifteen long-term survivors have demonstrated in coping with a life-threatening disease throughout the course of their adult lives. Interwoven with the academic literature, historical events, and artistic expressions from the popular media, the book narrates the life stories of these gay men who are members of the “AIDS Generation”. Their stories span the period from the early days of the epidemic to the present, including their lives as boys and young men negotiating their sexuality, first learning their serostatus, and their life experiences during this time. Next, this book describes the medical, psychological, social strategies and behaviors the men of this generation engaged in to survive the AIDS epidemic, and how these men of the AIDS Generation are confronting and navigating through this period of middle aged adulthood and into older adulthood with new physical, emotional, and social struggles. The book examines how approaches to survival inform and are informed by the broad body of literature on resilience and health, which may be applicable to the lives of those newly infected with HIV and others who are living with chronic health conditions, as well as providing insight to their caregivers and policy makers.

Alcohol has always been an issue in public health but it is currently assuming increasing importance as a cause of disease and premature death worldwide. This book provides an interdisciplinary ...
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Alcohol has always been an issue in public health but it is currently assuming increasing importance as a cause of disease and premature death worldwide. This book provides an interdisciplinary source of information that links together the usually separate fields of science, policy, and public health. This volume highlights the importance of bringing scientific knowledge to bear in order to strengthen and develop alcohol public policy. The book looks at the historical evolution of alcohol consumption in society, key early studies of alcohol and disease, and the cultural and social aspects of alcohol consumption. It then goes on to cover the chemistry and biology of alcohol, patterns of consumption, gender and age-related issues, alcohol and injury, alcohol and cancer and non-malignant disease, and various current therapeutic aspects. The book concludes with a section on alcohol policy, looking at issues of poverty, the availability of alcohol and alcohol control measures.Less

Alcohol : Science, Policy and Public Health

Published in print: 2013-03-07

Alcohol has always been an issue in public health but it is currently assuming increasing importance as a cause of disease and premature death worldwide. This book provides an interdisciplinary source of information that links together the usually separate fields of science, policy, and public health. This volume highlights the importance of bringing scientific knowledge to bear in order to strengthen and develop alcohol public policy. The book looks at the historical evolution of alcohol consumption in society, key early studies of alcohol and disease, and the cultural and social aspects of alcohol consumption. It then goes on to cover the chemistry and biology of alcohol, patterns of consumption, gender and age-related issues, alcohol and injury, alcohol and cancer and non-malignant disease, and various current therapeutic aspects. The book concludes with a section on alcohol policy, looking at issues of poverty, the availability of alcohol and alcohol control measures.

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity - Research and Public Policy Second Edition is a collaborative effort by an international group of addiction scientists to improve the linkages between ...
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Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity - Research and Public Policy Second Edition is a collaborative effort by an international group of addiction scientists to improve the linkages between addiction science and alcohol policy. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on alcohol research that has a direct relevance to the development of alcohol policy on local, national, and international levels. It provides an objective analytical basis on which to build relevant policies globally, and informs policy makers who have direct responsibility for public health and social welfare. By locating alcohol policy primarily within the realm of public health, this book draws attention to the growing tendency for governments, both national and local, to consider alcohol misuse as a major determinant of ill health, and to organize societal responses accordingly. The scope of the book is comprehensive and international. The authors describe the conceptual basis for a rational alcohol policy and present new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of alcohol misuse. The core of the book is a critical review of the cumulative scientific evidence in seven general areas of alcohol policy: pricing and taxation; regulating the physical availability of alcohol; modifying the environment in which drinking occurs; drink-driving countermeasures; marketing restrictions; primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; and treatment and early intervention services. The final chapters discuss the current state of alcohol policy in different parts of the world and describe the need for a new approach to alcohol policy that is evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated.Less

Published in print: 2010-02-25

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity - Research and Public Policy Second Edition is a collaborative effort by an international group of addiction scientists to improve the linkages between addiction science and alcohol policy. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on alcohol research that has a direct relevance to the development of alcohol policy on local, national, and international levels. It provides an objective analytical basis on which to build relevant policies globally, and informs policy makers who have direct responsibility for public health and social welfare. By locating alcohol policy primarily within the realm of public health, this book draws attention to the growing tendency for governments, both national and local, to consider alcohol misuse as a major determinant of ill health, and to organize societal responses accordingly. The scope of the book is comprehensive and international. The authors describe the conceptual basis for a rational alcohol policy and present new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of alcohol misuse. The core of the book is a critical review of the cumulative scientific evidence in seven general areas of alcohol policy: pricing and taxation; regulating the physical availability of alcohol; modifying the environment in which drinking occurs; drink-driving countermeasures; marketing restrictions; primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; and treatment and early intervention services. The final chapters discuss the current state of alcohol policy in different parts of the world and describe the need for a new approach to alcohol policy that is evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated.

This book assesses the political, economic, cultural, and health factors that relate to food allergies. It surveys the history of food allergies from ancient times to the present and provides a clear ...
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This book assesses the political, economic, cultural, and health factors that relate to food allergies. It surveys the history of food allergies from ancient times to the present and provides a clear appraisal of new medical findings on allergies and what they say about our environment, our immune system, and the nature of the food we consume. It shows that for most of the twentieth century, while many physicians and clinicians argued that certain foods could cause a range of chronic problems, from asthma and eczema to migraines and hyperactivity, others believed that allergies were psychosomatic or simply “junk” science. It traces the trajectory of this debate and its effect on public-health policy and the production, manufacture, and consumption of food. It answers the following key questions: Are rising allergy rates purely the result of effective lobbying and a booming industry built on self-diagnosis and expensive remedies? Or should physicians become more flexible in their approach to food allergies and more careful in their diagnoses? It explores the issue from scientific, political, economic, social, and patient-centred perspectives. It engages fully with the history of what is now a major modern affliction and illuminates society's troubled relationship with food, disease, and the creation of medical knowledge.Less

Another Person's Poison : A History of Food Allergy

Matthew Smith

Published in print: 2015-05-26

This book assesses the political, economic, cultural, and health factors that relate to food allergies. It surveys the history of food allergies from ancient times to the present and provides a clear appraisal of new medical findings on allergies and what they say about our environment, our immune system, and the nature of the food we consume. It shows that for most of the twentieth century, while many physicians and clinicians argued that certain foods could cause a range of chronic problems, from asthma and eczema to migraines and hyperactivity, others believed that allergies were psychosomatic or simply “junk” science. It traces the trajectory of this debate and its effect on public-health policy and the production, manufacture, and consumption of food. It answers the following key questions: Are rising allergy rates purely the result of effective lobbying and a booming industry built on self-diagnosis and expensive remedies? Or should physicians become more flexible in their approach to food allergies and more careful in their diagnoses? It explores the issue from scientific, political, economic, social, and patient-centred perspectives. It engages fully with the history of what is now a major modern affliction and illuminates society's troubled relationship with food, disease, and the creation of medical knowledge.

The options in antenatal and neonatal care are legion. Preferences still tend to be subjective. In spite of much publicity that has raised public expectation, an up-to-date thorough evaluation of ...
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The options in antenatal and neonatal care are legion. Preferences still tend to be subjective. In spite of much publicity that has raised public expectation, an up-to-date thorough evaluation of antenatal and neonatal screening has been lacking. This book sets out the principles and theory of screening using single and multiple markers. It emphasizes the need to examine screening approaches in a quantitative manner and aims to help enable choices to be based on objective evidence of efficacy safety, and cost — essential in determining public health policy. Technical advances have sometimes been introduced uncritically and without adequate assessment. It has been assumed, perhaps naively, that the early detection of abnormality will invariably be a good thing. In this book, there is no such assumption that new tests or technical procedures are useful. They are only considered as a legitimate medical option if they can and have been shown to lead to improvements in outcome. Each disorder is defined and the screening procedure which is designed to identify the disorder critically evaluated. Priority is given to the screening of disorders which lend themselves to effective intervention and practical guidance is provided on how screening should be conducted. Most chapters include a discussion of problem areas and research needs. There are twenty-three chapters from leading experts from Europe and North America. The book bridges different disciplines concerned with screening, and aims to improve the understanding of the subject and delivery of preventive medical services.Less

Antenatal and Neonatal Screening

Published in print: 2000-11-09

The options in antenatal and neonatal care are legion. Preferences still tend to be subjective. In spite of much publicity that has raised public expectation, an up-to-date thorough evaluation of antenatal and neonatal screening has been lacking. This book sets out the principles and theory of screening using single and multiple markers. It emphasizes the need to examine screening approaches in a quantitative manner and aims to help enable choices to be based on objective evidence of efficacy safety, and cost — essential in determining public health policy. Technical advances have sometimes been introduced uncritically and without adequate assessment. It has been assumed, perhaps naively, that the early detection of abnormality will invariably be a good thing. In this book, there is no such assumption that new tests or technical procedures are useful. They are only considered as a legitimate medical option if they can and have been shown to lead to improvements in outcome. Each disorder is defined and the screening procedure which is designed to identify the disorder critically evaluated. Priority is given to the screening of disorders which lend themselves to effective intervention and practical guidance is provided on how screening should be conducted. Most chapters include a discussion of problem areas and research needs. There are twenty-three chapters from leading experts from Europe and North America. The book bridges different disciplines concerned with screening, and aims to improve the understanding of the subject and delivery of preventive medical services.

This book examines the critical role of anthropology in four crucial public health domains: (1) anthropological understandings of public health problems such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes; (2) ...
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This book examines the critical role of anthropology in four crucial public health domains: (1) anthropological understandings of public health problems such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes; (2) the anthropological design of public health interventions in areas such as tobacco control and elder care; (3) anthropological evaluations of public health initiatives such as Safe Motherhood and polio eradication; and (4) anthropological critiques of public health policies, including neoliberal health care reforms. Anthropologists provide crucial understandings of public health problems from the perspectives of the populations in which the problems occur. On the basis of such understandings, anthropologists may develop and implement interventions to address particular public health problems, often working in collaboration with local participants. Anthropologists also work as evaluators, examining the activities of public health institutions and the successes and failures of public health programs. Anthropological critiques may focus on major international public health agencies and their workings, as well as public health responses to the threats of infectious disease and other disasters. Through twenty-four case studies from around the world, the book provides an argument for the imperative of anthropological perspectives, methods, information, and collaboration in the understanding and practice of public health.Less

Anthropology and Public Health : Bridging Differences in Culture and Society

Published in print: 2009-07-01

This book examines the critical role of anthropology in four crucial public health domains: (1) anthropological understandings of public health problems such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes; (2) the anthropological design of public health interventions in areas such as tobacco control and elder care; (3) anthropological evaluations of public health initiatives such as Safe Motherhood and polio eradication; and (4) anthropological critiques of public health policies, including neoliberal health care reforms. Anthropologists provide crucial understandings of public health problems from the perspectives of the populations in which the problems occur. On the basis of such understandings, anthropologists may develop and implement interventions to address particular public health problems, often working in collaboration with local participants. Anthropologists also work as evaluators, examining the activities of public health institutions and the successes and failures of public health programs. Anthropological critiques may focus on major international public health agencies and their workings, as well as public health responses to the threats of infectious disease and other disasters. Through twenty-four case studies from around the world, the book provides an argument for the imperative of anthropological perspectives, methods, information, and collaboration in the understanding and practice of public health.